Wilder Boys

March 1, 2015
After their mother is taken to the hospital, two brothers decamp from their home outside Pittsburgh in order to find their estranged father in a remote area of Wyoming. Thirteen-year-old Jake and his younger brother, Taylor, are pathetically unprepared for a journey, and their decision to bring the family Jack Russell terrier, Cody, adds complications. Pretending to be older and having absconded with funds belonging to their mother's boyfriend, Bull, the boys are incredibly lucky at times but eventually find the wilderness to be more challenging than they expected. At a crucial point they meet wolverine tracker Skeet, who graciously shares his knowledge and gear. But even as their confidence grows and they begin to feel that they are on their way to finding their dad, their past choices come back with a vengeance. Wallace maintains the book's pace by providing menacing peril at regular intervals; realistically, as the boys perceive some dangers as more threatening than is actually true, but they underestimate others. ("Wilderness Tips" in the backmatter serve to clarify these points.) The continuous seesaw between urban settlement and wilderness, threat and safety, luck and skill might turn off hard-core survival fans, but it will be attractive to adrenaline junkies. The action may sometimes be implausible, but it sure doesn't stop. (Adventure. 9-14)

February 1, 2015

Gr 5-8-A fresh take on the classic theme of youngsters escaping adult strictures to strike out on their own and live off the land. Thirteen-year-old Jake Wilder and his 11-year-old brother Taylor hate and fear their mother's vicious, abusive boyfriend, Bull. Their fears are heightened when, in quick succession, they witness Bull shooting another man and their mother being taken away on a gurney after suffering a beating. The boys grab a bundle of cash Bull had hidden and set off from their home in Pennsylvania to reconnect with their father, who abandoned them years before to live off the grid in Wyoming. With their loyal dog Cody in tow, the boys hop a freight train, hitch a ride with a sympathetic trucker, stow away in the luggage compartment of a bus, and start hiking in the vicinity of the Grand Tetons, with only their father's enigmatic directions to guide them. During the course of their adventures, they rescue a rough-hewn naturalist named Skeet, who takes them in and teaches them survival skills. Though this work is chock-full of action, the style is pedestrian and the ending both abrupt and contrived. Appended is an illustrated list of "Wilderness Tips." VERDICT Despite the lackluster writing and inauthentic conclusion, this book contains enough action, adventure, and outdoor lore to appeal to middle grade fans of Wills Hobbs and Gary Paulsen.-Richard Luzer, Fair Haven Union High School, VT

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